If Saturday's 27-0 domination of the St. Louis Rams is the last time Hines Ward suits up for the Steelers in Heinz Field, he will go out on top -- of the Steelers' record books.

The 35-year-old Steelers receiver is the franchise's all-time leader in yards, receptions and receiving touchdowns. He is only five catches away from 1,000. If Ward makes it, he will become just the third player in NFL history with 1,000 catches and multiple Super Bowl wins. Jerry Rice and Art Monk are the others. Nice company.

If he can get those five catches Sunday in the season finale at Cleveland, Ward might guarantee his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That has been the big buzz for everyone in Pittsburgh -- there was a sign in the south end zone Saturday that counted down with each catch -- except Ward.

"All we gotta do is keep controlling what we can control," he said.

Though he only caught four passes against the Rams, Ward still played a crucial role in the Steelers' win as his receptions kept drives alive. He hasn't been the go-to guy much this season, especially in recent weeks when he's seen a drastic reduction in playing time.

Check out the complete story on ThePostGame.com.

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The Cincinnati Bengals made it look easy. After forcing the Steelers offense to go three-and-out on the opening drive of the game, Andy Dalton and the Bengals offense took the ball at their own 37-yard line and proceeded to drive 59 yards down to the Steelers' 4-yard line. With second-and-goal at the 4, Bengals rookie WR AJ Green was flagged for a false start. An incompletion and a delay of game on a field goal attempt later and the Bengals lined up to take a 3-0 lead with a 33-yard field goal attempt.

That's where the momentum changed.

Steelers rookie defensive lineman Cameron Heyward reached up into the air and got a hand on the Mike Nugent kick to deflect it into the air.

"I just went straight and Ziggy [Hood] got great penetration which forced the guard to push out on him," Heyward explained after the game. "And it just opened up like the Red Sea."

Though the Steelers offense would not get on the board until the second quarter the blocked field goal was a momentum changer and the Steelers defense rallied on the following drives and would only allow one Cincinnati touchdown the entire game as the Steelers cruised to a 35-7 AFC North victory at home on Sunday.

"Huge play," said defensive end Bret Keisel a former special teams standout in his own right, of Heyward's blocked field goal. "Making a play on special teams like that can really change the outcome of a game."

"We went three and out on offense; that was no good," explained Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. "They go down the field and go for a touchdown and they didn't get it. Then we get a blocked field goal. It brings a new energy to a team. I think it is what got us rolling."

The special teams dominance continued following Rashard Mendenhall's second touchdown run of the game when linebacker Stevenson Sylvester stripped the ball away from Bengals kick returner Brandon Tate. The ball was recovered by Steelers WR Emmanuel Sanders at the Cincinnati 23. Three plays later Roethlisberger found Mike Wallace in the end zone to make it 21-0 Steelers.

The Steelers went into halftime with a 28-7 lead thanks to yet another dynamic special teams play when emerging star wideout Antonio Brown returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown.

"I started in the middle and I took it left and I knew I was gonna break it out right and I was able to get it outside and my guy was in a great position," Brown said. "Bryant McFadden blocked the last guy for me to get around the edge and from there it was me and the punter."

The second half saw both starting quarterbacks removed from the game after another Roethlisberger to Wallace touchdown pass made it 35-7.

The Steelers had put together their most complete game of the season and in the process dominated a team that has had success in the recent past in Heinz Field and a division rival who was looking to stay in the AFC playoff hunt.

This type of play has become expected of the Steelers in December and January as the team seems to play their best football when the games mean the most.

"If we can play that way in all three phases, we'll be a tough team to beat here in December," Keisel said.

"These are the games that count. These are the games that put you in place to make your run," said linebacker James Farrior. "Right now, is our time. We can't afford to lose any games. So we're going to have to play every game like it's a playoff game. We already started our playoffs."

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has to love the urgency, even if he won't admit it.

"I'd like to think we are capable of having that sense of urgency in September, because we only get 16 opportunities to state our case," he said. "I was pleased but there are new and greater challenges that lie ahead. It's about sustaining it and improving it moving forward into December."

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If the Baltimore Ravens' 23-20 win Sunday night put the final nail in the coffin of the Steelers' hopes to win the AFC North, then the atmosphere in the Pittsburgh locker room after the game was certainly fitting.

Minutes after the Ravens shocked Pittsburgh with a 92-yard touchdown drive to take the lead with mere seconds left in the game, the Steelers locker room was so quiet you could hear the sighs of disappointment from every member of the roster who didn't quickly shower, dress and exit the stadium before the post-game media availability.

The eerie quietness made the usually electric home team locker room feel more like a wake. The stunned looks on their faces said it all. They had fought to get back into the game after the Ravens took a 16-6 lead in the third quarter. With just under five minutes left, Ben Roethlisberger threw a 25-yard strike to Mike Wallace to put the Steelers on top 20-16. But the Joe Flacco-led Ravens would strike back with an uncharacteristic 92-yard touchdown drive to steal the game from the Steelers with only eight seconds left.

The 26-yard pass from Flacco arched toward the back right corner of the end zone where Torrey Smith atoned for poor play earlier in the game by allowing the ball to fall into his arms for the game-winning touchdown.

"A miscommunication between six guys who shouldn't have a miscommunication," Ryan Clark said of that final play. "I'm the leader of that. I'm the guy who is supposed to get everybody on the same page and I didn't. I should've been over the top a little more to help William (Gay) and I wasn't, which caused him to be a little behind the guy."

"It was a tough [loss]," said DE Brett Keisel. "To have the lead there and have a chance to go out and make a stop and win the game, it's tough. But they're a good team and you gotta give them credit. They beat us today."

The silence in the Steelers locker room spoke louder than any post-game quote could. This was a team that was devastated to lose to a division rival that in recent years had been unable to get over on them. The Ravens flipped the script of the best rivalry in the NFL by sweeping the Steelers this season.

"They made plays and we didn't," Keisel said. "It just didn't go our way today. They're a good team. Hopefully we'll see them again."

Sunday night's game, until the final 15 seconds of the game, had followed a familiar formula. The Ravens looked like the better of the two teams early, and then the Steelers made plays to get back in the game and take a late lead. But that's where the similarities to previous installments ended.

Instead of the Steelers defense feasting on Flacco and coming up with a big play late, it was the Ravens offense who drove right down the field on the Steelers defense.

Flacco made it look easy with passes of 21, 13, 10, 11 and finally 26 yards to put the game away.

"That was, on my part, the worst drive ever," explained a disappointed William Gay.

As the clocked tick to all zeroes in Heinz Field, the Steelers found themselves in an unfamiliar situation: Looking up at the Baltimore Ravens with their hopes of winning the division on life support, suffering from a severe lack of turnovers. Through nine games this season, the Steelers defense has registered a mere six turnovers.

The Steelers now turn their focus to division upstart Cincinnati who sit atop the AFC North along with the Ravens at 6-2. If the Steelers want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they have to win Sunday in Cincinnati. But it won't be an easy task to take down rookie sensation Andy Dalton and the resurgent Bengals. Especially if the ghost of Sunday night's loss to Baltimore refuses to leave the Steelers alone.

"For today and tomorrow it's gonna be tough," Keisel admitted. "But we've got a bunch of tough guys in here and we'll find a way to respond."

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Coming into Sunday's tilt with Steelers Killer Tom Brady and the then 5-1 Patriots, the Steelers didn't have history on their side. Tom Brady's numbers against the Steelers were oft-repeated coming into the afternoon's national game of the week: 6-1 all-time, a 67.8 completion percentage, 2,006 yards, 14 TDs and only three interceptions.

But somewhere in the dark cloud that was the Steelers' history against Brady and the Patriots was a silver lining: The Steelers suddenly have one of the most potent offenses in the NFL and enough talent to torch the Patriots' 32nd-ranked pass defense. And that's exactly what they did.

Ben Roethlisberger lead a ball-control passing offense that was worked to keep Tom Brady and the Patriots offense off the field.

"Whenever you think about possessing the ball and time of possession and controlling it, it's running the ball," Roethlisberger said. "Well, we kind of showed we can do it without always running the ball."

The Steelers ran the ball twice on the opening drive as Roethlisberger lead an 11-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that ate 5:52 off the clock. After their defense forced a three-and-out, the Steelers got the ball back with 7:44 left in the first quarter. The Patriots didn't get the ball back until the second quarter. After Shaun Suisham kicked a 33-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 10-0 lead, the Patriots were still looking to run their fifth offensive play of the game.

The Steelers once again leaned heavily on the pass for that second drive, running on only three of 16 plays. By the end of the first half the Patriots had only possessed the ball for 8:47 to Pittsburgh's 21:13.

The Steelers converted 68 percent of the time on third down, including 6 of 8 in the first half, to sustain drives, which kept Brady off the field.

"[That] was big. That's the way you have to play a top quarterback," Steelers safety Ryan Clark said. "You have to keep him off the field as much as possible. Them scoring a low amount of points is just as much the offense's job as the defense's."

"You always wanna be out there and the defense is busting their butts to get them off the field," Brady said after the game. "We needed to do a better job complimenting their drives. If they have a long drive, our offense can't just go in there and do a three and out like we did."

Roethlisberger's 50 pass attempts were the second most of his career. He had 54 on Nov. 5, 2006, in a loss against the Broncos. These weren't all quick hitters and dump-offs against the Patriots. Roethlisberger finished the game with an average of 7.3 yards per passing attempt. And Roethlisberger says the offensive gameplan was to go downfield with the ball.

"You would have thought that the game plan was just dink-and-dunk but that is what they gave us," Roethlisberger said. "They took away the deep ball."

The Patriots decision to take away the deep ball merely opened things up underneath and allowed Steelers tight end Heath Miller and wide receiver Antonio Brown to have big days.

"I thought our Pro Bowl tight end did a great job," Roethlisberger said of Miller. "I know he had a great game. He is Mr. Dependable. I get the ball close to him and he makes plays."

As for Antonio Brown, the second-year wideout saw more passes with veteran WR Hines Ward being inactive due to injury and finished with a career high nine receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.

"We expect to step up," Brown said of himself and fellow second-year receiver Emmanuel Sanders. "Every time we are out there, we expect to make plays and expect to do our job. Doing that with Hines Ward and the veteran that he is being out, we knew that our plays were going to be even more key."

The Steelers would end up almost doubling the Patriots in both time of possession and in total plays, keeping Brady off the field and allowing Roethlisberger to do his best impression of the Patriots signal caller.

But as good as the Steelers offense performed in their 25-17 win over their AFC nemesis, as a unit they still were not entirely happy with their performance.

"When we get to the red zone we have to control the ball and put seven points on the board," Roethlisberger said.

With division rival Baltimore coming into town next week for a Sunday Night showdown that could determine the winner of the AFC North, things aren't going to get any easier for the Steelers. But if their offense can possess the ball and keep the opposing offense off the field, they have a great chance to beat anybody. Clark and the Steelers defense would certainly love the Steelers dominance in time of possession to continue.

"The time of possession was big for us, and I enjoy it," Clark said. "If I had a Terrible Towel, I'd wave it too when our offense is out there. Three plays in the first quarter, for us, defensively, really set the tone that our offense was going to be able to control the ball. And when you've got that going, you can just kind of pin your ears back and play defense."

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If Rashard Mendenhall has been feeling the heat in light of the performances of his backups in last week's win over the Tennessee Titans, he isn't admitting it.

"Every day I approach my job the same," Mendenhall said Sunday after his 146-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Jaguars. "Every day I put my best foot forward and you can't do more than that. So this is just another day, another week."

But this was not just another week for Mendenhall, who entered the game averaging just 3.0 yards per carry. Part of the issue was running behind an offensive line that has been less than stellar. Mendenhall, though, was under scrutiny as he returned reinserted to the lineup after a week on the bench due to a hamstring injury. The result? He more than doubled his season average with a 6.3 yards per attempt, thanks in no small part to a suddenly resurgent offensive line.

"That's the Mendenhall I've always known," said recently re-signed left tackle Max Starks. "I wasn't here for the Mendenhall everyone else is talking about."

The addition of Starks and injuries to left guard Chris Kemoeatu and rookie right tackle Marcus Gilbert have led to a seemingly better, more cohesive offensive line performance the past two weeks, especially in the run game.

The improved line play sparked controversy among Steelers fans after Mendenhall's backups combined for 156 yards rushing in last week's domination of the Titans. The talk in Pittsburgh since last weekend has been how much better the Steelers running game looked without Mendenhall. There were calls for backups Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer to not only get more carries but perhaps even start over last season's 1,273-yard rusher. Mendenhall took a step toward silencing those critics with his performance against the Jaguars.

"He did a nice job," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "He ran the ball well. We blocked well. We put the ball where it was supposed to go. We finished plays."

One of the criticism facing Mendenhall was not just his production through four games, but also his running style. Sometimes mockingly referred to by Steelers fans as "Rashard Spinandfall" for his penchant for spinning to avoid tackles in the backfield, Mendenhall has erroneously gained a reputation for being a soft runner, one who dances around in the backfield instead of hitting the hole with authority and running straight up-field.

But Mendenhall dismisses the notion that he changed his style or that he did anything differently this week.

"I don't think that after running the same way for 24 years that you can change your style in a week," Mendenhall said. He added, "We did a good job as an offense."

"He's still the same guy," Starks said. "I think we did a better job of cleaning up the holes for him and giving him options to run through."

Unsurprisingly the improved offensive line play lead to Mendenhall's best performance of the season. Unlike in previous weeks he didn't find himself having to work to break tackles in the backfield or try to cut back outside due to non-existent holes. The running back worked in sync with his offensive line to rush for a season-high 146 yards on 23 carries.

"We felt more sound, we communicated cleanly and allowed opportunities for Jon Scott and Maurkice Pouncey and everybody to come in and work hard," Starks explained.

To say that the performance of the Steelers offensive line is going to be important the rest of the season is an understatement. When the line does well, so will the running backs, no matter who it is taking the handoff from Ben Roethlisberger.

But one thing is clear, the man who should benefit most from an improved line is Rashard Mendenhall. Barring injury, he will get the majority of the carries from here on out and no one in their right mind will be able to complain about it. Because Mendenhall has proven time and time again that he deserves it.

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